Freak on a Leash
by misfitlove11
Summary: Cynthia Rose Iver is alone, cold and homeless. Wandering the streets of Jupiter, Florida, she happens to find herself at the Freakshow! I suck at summaries, American Horror Story Freakshow fanfic, possible lemons in the future!
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Notes: So this is my first attempt at fan fiction and I'd thought I would start with my favorite TV show. I can't wait for the next season of American Horror Story, and I thought I would write my own version of what next season might be like, but I'm just going off the teasers, so bear with me! Don't be too harsh on me! All rights go to Ryan Murphy.**

**PS: Nearly all the characters in this fanfic are actual characters from the next series of American Horror Story. Once the season airs, their personalities in the show could be completely different from how I've portrayed them, but I've just guessed and assumed what they would be like.  
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Introduction:  
>Jupiter, Florida, 1952.<p>

The cold night air of Jupiter was thick with fog. The usually quiet town seemed to be buzzing with excitement. Even though Jupiter was a common attraction amongst tourists (due to the many lakes, lagoons, and only a short walk to Palm Beach), the small coastal town had become a beacon for the wealthy, elderly and lonely. Beach houses and glorious aged mansions were scattered everywhere, with the odd motel on nearly every street. For days on end tourists and even the locals who never showed any interest in, well….. anything, had been gossiping excitedly like children, and it was on the coldest night that the month of June had ever seen when Cynthia Rose Iver found out why…

Chapter One:

I found the deadly silent streets of Jupiter quite unsettling, but then again, it wasn't usually a crowd worthy scene anywhere at twelve am. Still, there was usually the odd drunk, prostitute or local gang hanging around under the streetlights, but no, there was not a single person insight other than myself. I was freezing, shivering in my yellow sundress which was pretty much in tatters. I found this unusual, since the start of summer in Palm Beach, Florida was usually sweltering. My breath came out in ragged pants, leaving a visible puff of mist every time I exhaled. _Surely it wasn't that cold_, I thought.

I had been living on the street for about three months at this point, and if my fragile and timid personality didn't show it, my appearance certainly did. Other than the ripped, stained clothes (or lack thereof clothes) I was wearing, my long dark hair was in an oily, knotted mess, my legs had a range of purple bruises and scratches, my bare calloused feet were dragging against the pavement in the most unladylike fashion in existence, and my once clean, creamy and pale skin was covered in dirt, dust, and what I could only assume was soot. I was a mess, filthy, and in need of help.  
>I thought back to how I got into this position in the first place.<p>

I guess it all began when my mother died giving birth to me. I know, tragic. And then the next best thing happened, my father, a well-respected lawyer in his day, killed himself due to losing his high school sweetheart, the love of his life. And where was I at this point? As a three day old newborn, I was shuffled off to my mother's sister, Pamela, who let's be honest, wasn't exactly the most eager parent, with her wanna-be rock star lifestyle, which painted a clear picture of sex, drugs, and alcohol. But still, she fed me, bathed me, and even named me. Cynthia Rose Iver, after some actress in the 1920s who I still have no knowledge of. She had given nineteen years of her life up to raise me, which loved bringing up every chance she got in her final days on this Earth. Pamela, at 54, in all her bleached blonde, caramel colored tan grace, died of her favorite past time, smoking. By time we found out about the lung cancer, she was already out of time. Six days after she was told, she died, lounging in her favorite sun chair facing the beach on the back porch, wineglass in hand. Quite fitting really.

The next day, there was a rush of lawyers and other legal personnel, coming in and out of her beach house. Apparently, even though Pamela was living in the lap of luxury, with all her white leather furniture and beach front views, she had no savings, no life insurance, and no will. So, as an unemployed, nineteen year old girl with no other family or friends, I ended up on the street. Yet I was numb to all of it. I was never close to Pamela, her death, though sudden, didn't affect me on an emotional level. Her beach house, never really felt like home to me. I hadn't shed a tear. I merely had this constant frown on my face, like anything other than disappoint surprised me.

The past three months had been brutal. The streets and back alleys weren't exactly safe. I had escaped the rape of drunken men more times than I could count. I had dodged bullets and knifings from drug dealers who worked the streets. Physically, I was weak. I had no strength or power. The only thing that had kept me alive was my speed. In a panicked daze, I could run faster than anyone, which was probably the only reason while I was still here.

A sudden hunger in my stomach returned me back to the present. I was starving, and hadn't eaten in god knows how long. Exhaustion was also starting to creep up on me. You would think I would have been used to sleeping on park benches or sand by then, but no. The one thing I did miss and crave, was my soft comfortable bed, and three months without a bed, was really beginning to take a toll on my back and neck. I didn't know what to do. I was completely and utterly alone. There wasn't even a junky on the street I could turn to. For the first time since I was 8 years old, I started crying, well more like sobbing uncontrollably. And still no tears would fall. It was just dry heaves and mucus, completely consuming my body. Maybe it was because I was so dehydrated. I was also in the shitty part of town. Brown bricked apartment buildings and old, run down factories clouded my view.

I was all of a sudden startled by the booming voice of what sounded like an eccentric man yelling, "WELCOME TO THE FREAK SHOW", which was then followed by a creepy laugh into what I could assume was a megaphone.

What came next was lots of laughs, cheers and squeals of delight. I turned around with a jolt, and spotted something in the distance. What looked to be a huge castle was somehow swaying in the distance. I was then temporarily blinded by bold, colorful flashing lights which could probably give anyone an epileptic seizure. Though intensely bright, they were somewhat hypnotic.

I heard about the freak show. It had only been in town for a few days, yet the locals went crazy for it. And why shouldn't they? The only source of entertainment in Jupiter was the forty year old bowling alley, beaches, lakes, and lagoons. And what was more exciting than gazing at people with abnormalities in wonder. As if they were aliens or something.

The sound of thunder, which followed by rain pelting down against my skin shook me out of day dream. My dress was soaked instantly, my hair drenched and clinging to back. With my teeth chattering and my skin prickling with goose bumps, I looked towards the swaying castles.

_What did I have to lose? ,_ I thought to myself. I was cold, hungry, and alone. _Sleeping under the pier could be delayed for a moment longer_, and with that thought, I broke into a slow jog.

It turned out the mysterious swaying castle and bright lights were much further than I thought. What I thought would take a ten minute walk, ended up turning into a 40 minute brisk jog. As I ran through empty dark streets, parks and the large Jupiter community gardens which could easily be mistaken as a medium sized forest, I started to approach a large empty field. I must have been disorientated. A thought struck me as I grew closer to the lights, _how could I see the magic swaying castle and lights over the tall brown bricked apartment buildings and beach houses when I was standing in the street? _When I reached my destination, I realized why.

What I thought was a swaying castle was actually a colossal sized red and white striped tent. And when I say colossal, I mean what appeared to be a ten story building from a distance, but actually looked twenty stories high from up close. Roaring, joyful music filled my ears as I came closer to the tent. A single slit in the front of the tent showed the only sign of life from inside. When the ice-like wind blew the slit open, I saw a golden warm light. A giant crowd of people were inside cheering, laughing, and out of their seats. The slit firmly closed again. _So this is why the streets were so empty. _Nearly everyone in town was probably inside the freak show.

As my eyesight grew accustomed to the flashing lights coming from the massive bulbs outside the tent, I noticed there were many large and smaller tents in amongst the field and all with warm glowing lights trickling from within their cloth walls. It was like a little town of its own had situated itself amongst the fields of Jupiter. I also spotted about 30 different sized rusty old caravans scattered in and around the tents. _Surely I could find some ounce or shred of food around here. _At that thought my stomach gurgled at an epic volume. I rubbed my forearms with my hands, trying to find some kind of warmth, and lightly crept over to the little village of fabric castles.

I wasn't even going to try the largest tent, there was clearly a performance or something going on inside. I found my way over to a slightly smaller tent which was releasing some very seductive music. I got on my knees and crawled to the edge of the tent. I slowly lifted up the fabric and poked my head inside.

_This tent definitely doesn't have food in it, _I thought. Through a smoky haze I could see a tiny little stage with a big group of men crowded around it. A beautiful, curvaceous woman was dancing seductively on the stage, slowly stripping off her black…. dress? It was more like lingerie but who was I to judge? I was a dirty looking homeless girl scrimmaging around for food. With that harsh logic in my mind, I quickly retreated to another tent.

This one was completely orange, and not large in height, but in length. This tent ran about thirty five meters long. That's when the smell hit me. The scent of roast chicken, butternut pumpkin, and mashed potatoes filled my nostrils in the most glorious way. I nearly screamed in desperation. I was so hungry, the word starvation would have described my physical state better. It had been more than two weeks since I had a decent meal, when I broke into Shirley's Diner. I had always been a slim girl, but at that point, I felt anorexic. With no hesitation, I crawled under the fabric, and entered the tent. I quickly observed my surroundings. I was in a rough looking kitchen, a messy kitchen at that. The color scheme of the kitchen appliances and furniture seemed to be purple and red. The decorative aspect of the room was utterly hideous. But that wasn't what worried me. The thing that worried me most was the loud male voices coming from the other side of the dividing curtain, which I assumed led into another room. I was about to retreat, but then I spotted the source of the aroma. A giant plate of everything I had smelt was sitting on a bench a few steps away from me. My stomach tightened painfully. _One bite, _I thought. _One little taste and then I'll leave. _Repeating that mantra in my mind over and over again, I took glacial steps towards the bench. _So close, just a little bit further._

Before I knew it, I was standing over the golden mashed potatoes, the honey glazed roast chicken, and the delicious looking pumpkin. In a fit of starving agony, I dug my dirt-ridden fingernails into the boiling hot pile of mashed potato on the lavender colored plate and shoved the entire handful into my mouth. I moaned in gratification. My mouth and fingers were burnt but I didn't care. All I could think about was the extraordinary flavors dancing across my tongue. I swallowed the hot contents down my throat. My mind cleared of everything bad that had happened in the past few months. Who knew I would get so much satisfaction from a piece of potato? I was filled with content in that very moment. That was until I was pulled backwards towards the ground by my hair.


	2. Chapter 2

I screamed more in surprise than in pain at first. That was until whoever it was kept yanking my hair over and over again in aggressive jerks.

"ARRGH! GOD STOP PLEASE!", I squealed.

I was met with a low venomous chuckle.

"Why should I thief?! You're the bloody one who is breaking and entering!"

Before I could even comprehend what was going on or respond to male's raspy accusation, my hair was yanked so hard that my head collided with the solid ground, and a large crack filled the silence. The pain invaded all my senses at once. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't speak, and I was so overwhelmed with fear. The only thing I was aware of was the fact I was lying on my back. I suddenly felt a hot breath pounding against my ear and cheek.

The raspy threatening voice then whispered, "The next time I catch you stealing anything, scratch that, the next time I see you anywhere near the property, I'm going to fucking cut your tongue out and peel the skin off your pretty little face".

And with that pleasant comment, adrenaline filled my body. I quickly threw my bony elbow outwards towards the sound of the voice and collided with something hard, most likely the male's gut. I yelped in agony. I stupidly didn't think of the possible height and size of the mysterious man. He let out a grunt, and then chuckled.

"I guess you do have a death wish."

I heard the scrape of steel, and slowly opened my eyes. I saw the huge dark outline of a male. My vision was blurred, my breathing ragged. I felt the sharp sting of a knife pressed against my cheek.

"Die knowing that I will enjoy every moment of your screams".

I held my breath, preparing for the end, and praying that it would be over quickly. But I knew he would drag it out, I could feel it in his voice that this man wasn't just a normal civilian, he had the aura of predator. A predator that you hid from under the covers of your bed, a predator that swam in your thoughts and nightmares waiting for you to snap, a predator who wants you to feel pain at every chance he can get.

"EDDY! What the fuck man?! What the hell are you doing to that girl?!".

We both turned our heads to the welcome intrusion (at least welcome to me). In the curtain doorway, a very tall, even bigger man filled my vision.

"I'm punishing a criminal. This bitch broke into the kitchen, and started eating the meal I cooked for Elsa. Therefore, she will die at my hand".

_Holy shit. _I started to panic, I was praying for this new stranger not to leave, I was pleading with him through my eyes as best as I could.  
>"Alright, but fuck man! Take her to Jimmy! He'll deal with her", the new stranger said, an undertone of begging in his voice.<br>I looked up at the one he called Ed. He was very pale, but his eyes were like a serpent's. They were green and they were glowing in a very unnatural way. I cringed, and he noticed. He studied me, like prey.

He then abruptly stood up and said with a voice like acid, "Fine", and then simply walked out of the tent.

I exhaled a long breath which I didn't know I was holding. I was too stunned and petrified to move. My vision blurred again, except this time, it was because my eyes filled with tears. I started to hyperventilate. Oxygen refused to enter my lungs. The stranger picked came over to me in a rush, and scooped my up bride-style into his arms.

"Breathe slowly, Jimmy will be much easier on you", he said gruffly.  
>I whimpered, terrified of what his version of 'easy on me' meant.<p>

Jimmy POV

I looked over all the reports spread out across the mahogany desk. Nearly every single piece of paper had a big red stamp mark reading 'declined'. _Shit, _I cussed silently to myself. The fire department had been on our tails since the show had left Chicago earlier that year. Plus, with the added pressure from the authorities accusing us of the mistreatment of human rights, we were in some deep shit. Ticket sales had plummeted. Funding for the freak show had dropped dramatically. The town of Jupiter was the first sign of only a slight growth in ticket sales, and that was only because the town had little to no access to entertainment, but that had worked in our favor. _Elsa will be thrilled, _he thought sarcastically. Knowing the show had to stay much longer in town then I had realized, well, let's just say, I was not going to be the one to tell Elsa. No fucking way. Dell, the big brute, or known to the public as 'Strong Man', came storming in like a big production, carrying a pale girl in his arms.

"Haven't I told you to knock before Dell?"

"Yeah well, this couldn't wait", and with that comment, he dropped the pale girl on the floor, and not too kindly I might add.

The girl grunted, trying to sit up on her knees, and then yelped when Dell pulled her long black hair with his fist, controlling her like a puppet on a string.

"This delightful looking creature was just found riffling through the kitchen, and stuffing her face with potato. I'm sure Elsa will be ecstatic', he said with his testosterone filling the air.

I walked around the desk, running a disfigured hand through my hair. At first glance, she looked homeless. She was bare foot, with dirt under her finger and toe nails. Her legs were covered in scratches and green and purple bruises. Her dress, which might have once been bright yellow, was a faded lemon color. The hem of it in tatters, mud and dust nearly covered most of it. Her face had a look innocence. A light splash of freckles were sprinkled across her nose. My guess she was only about seventeen. She was most likely a runaway. Her golden brown eyes were wide, and furious. Which was probably the cause of her long black hair knotted in Dell's fists.

"What's your name?", I asked, trying to give off the vibe of a friendly guy, but I was clearly failing.

She growled in response and then spat at my work boots. Dell pulled even tighter on her hair so her face was facing up towards the ceiling.

She whimpered.

"Show some respect girl", Dell growled.

I frowned and tried again.

"One more time, what is your name?", I asked, each syllable slightly clipped with the anger in my voice. I'd just cleaned those boots. Her eyes met mine, hesitant and pissed off.

"My name is Cynthia, now can you tell this bastard to let go of my hair?", she hissed.

I looked over at Dell, and raised an eyebrow.

"Dell ease up a bit."

He instantly loosened his grip on her hair, but his hand was still attached.

"Alright, what were you doing snooping in our kitchen? That's not very polite."

"It's also not very polite to threaten to peel the skin off an unarmed teenaged girl's face with a knife", she replied, her voice like acid.

_Yep, definitely a runaway. A girl who has been homeless her whole life didn't talk like that._ I glanced at Dell.

"It wasn't me", he said quickly, "Ed was the one that caught her in the kitchen, I guess she's talking about him."

I sighed, long and hard.

"I apologize for that. Ed is….. not a people person. But you were breaking and entering, so technically.."

"Technically the tent was half open, with a plate of food unattended. What is more likely to happen, is that the police will find it very interesting that a girl was attacked and threatened at the freak show", she muttered confidently.

_This girl knows what she's doing. _Mine and Dell's eyes met, truly stumped as to what to do.

"She's gotta point. The freak show has been getting enough reports as it is. If this gets out, they'll shut us down, FOR GOOD", Dell stated, like the fucking 'Captain Obvious' he was.

I was baffled.

"Well we can't let her go. She'll blab."

"I suppose I could get Ed to deal with her…."

"NO! We're not killing her. We're not roughing her up. We're not doing that. That will just get us into deeper shit".

I was angry, the freak show really did not need this right now.

"I'll chain her up in my trailer, then tomorrow I'll take her to Elsa. She can decide what happens to her."  
>Dell whistled in response.<p>

"Good luck with that one".

I glanced back down at the girl. I uncrossed my hands from behind my back and went to stroke the loose strand of hair out of her face. Her eyes widened, and then she screamed at my disfigured hands.

"Oh, my friends call me Jimmy, but I suppose you can call me 'Lobster Boy' like the rest of the dull cattle", I replied to her screams.

I scooped her up over my shoulders, walked around Dell, and took her to my trailer. She punched my back and tried to squirm out of my grip the entire way there, her shouts palpable.

"You're gonna regret this!", Dell shouted from the office.

"Trust me, I know", I replied.

Cynthia's POV  
>I was pissed off, to the max. The man with the 'lobster claw' hands had tied me to one of the legs of the creaky old bed in his trailer. I was furious, and had been tugging and pulling at the rope for an hour.<p>

"You'll only just exhaust yourself", he muttered, clearly finding this amusing.

He was drinking what looked to be a beer he had just taken out of the fridge.

"Do you want one?", he asked.

I look at him dumbfounded.

"NO I DON"T WANT ONE! I WANT TO GO..", i was about to say home, but I realized I didn't have one. Home was the cold streets of Jupiter, and at least in this rickety, faded white trailer I was warm.

"Listen here cow, you need to calm yourself", the man said.

"My name is not 'cow'. It's Cynthia! C, Y, N, T, H, I, A!", I spat at him.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked, as if he was in on a joke that I didn't understand. He was tall, and had a slim build, but his shirt was half open. Which revealed the lining of his top abs and pecks. His chocolate brown colored hair was swept back lazily, with a few stubborn strands falling in his eyes. His eyes, which matched the color of his hair, regarded me curiously. He had a slight tan, as if he worked in the sun on a daily basis. He had a little white scar across the side of his bottom lip, which was clenched between his teeth. But it was his claw shaped hands that stood out. His middle and index finger were the length of a standard ruler and were stuck together. His pinky a ring finger were the same, so it gave the impression that his hand only contained three fingers, or lobster claws. His thumb was the only normal factor about his hand. His left hand resembled the right. He was attractive, and I would have given him more of a look over if I wasn't so afraid.

"Are you going to rape me?", I trembled. My eyes welling up with tears again. His eyes widened at that comment.

"Get over yourself. And no, I don't rape women. I prefer my women willing and over the age of fifteen", he said, clearly amused with himself.

"I'm nineteen, you idiot", I snapped at him.

I didn't know why I said that. If I wanted to avoid rape, I should have went along with the age fifteen, but my pride was too strong. He chuckled.

"Oh god, wait till Elsa gets a load of you tomorrow."

With that pleasant comment, he grinned, and slowly exited the trailer. I was hardly surprised when I heard the sound of a lock popping shut on the door.

For hours, I kept pulling and tugging on the rope, but eventually out of exhaustion, I gave up and laid my head on the ground, too tired to even think.

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><p><strong>Okay, what are we thinking so far? First time writer here so please, leave a review! Trying to update a quickly as possible! xo<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing I was aware of was someone kicking the side of me. Not hard, but it was very annoying, especially since sleep seemed so much better than waking up.

"Cynthia, get up! We've got shit to do", I heard Jimmy mutter in irritation.

I slowly opened my eyes, the sun was streaming in through the window, and I noticed someone had put me on the bed. Jimmy or 'Lobster Boy', looked good. He was freshly washed, in a clean blue checkered shirt, with his hair combed back neatly. He smelt like sandal wood, lemons, and masculinity. I stretched, my arm stiff from the rope.

"Can I please have a minute?", I whispered, my voice still tinged with drowsiness.

He untied the rope and said, "There's a bucket of clean water to wash yourself in the corner and another over there to do your business. I found some clean clothes for you to wear", he signaled to the folded pile on the edge of the bed," and there's a bowl of porridge on the table, you have twenty minutes. I'll be waiting outside."

He walked out the trailer and locked the door behind him. _Well that was abrupt, _I thought to myself. I went straight for the two buckets in relief. As I was used to using the public toilets at the beach, the next bucket baffled me, but I got it over and done with. It had been so long since I had a wash. There was a bar of lemon scented soap next one of the buckets. I got rid of most of the dirt, dust and mud out of my skin and hair. I then looked over at the clothes. There was a cream colored camisole, a matching pair of underwear, a clean white shirt, a dark blue, cotton high-waisted skirt, and a pair of white sandals. _At least his taste in clothes wasn't so bad. _I eagerly discarded my yellow dress, and dressed in the clean fresh clothes.

I went over to the little mirror above the kitchen sink where men's razors were scattered all over the place. My hair was still a knotted mess. I grabbed the comb from beside the sink, which I assumed was Jimmy's, and gave it a quick once over. I had grey circles under my eyes, as if I hadn't had a good night's sleep in months, which was basically correct. I had a little cut on the side of my cheek, which I assumed was from Ed's knife. That made me shiver. The freckles across my nose stood out greatly against my pale skin. By time I was finished getting ready, the porridge was cold. With a sigh, I knocked on the trailer's door.

Jimmy opened it a second later, his eyes giving her a once over.

"Not a total Betty, but a vast improvement. Elsa will hopefully overlook the fact that I let you borrow her shoes. Oh and you can thank Desiree for the rest of the clothes", he said, and undertone of mocking in his voice.

I ignored the back handed compliment and asked, "Who's Desiree and this Elsa I keep hearing about?".

"Desiree is our three breasted woman, who is probably sleeping off a hangover so you can thank her for the clothes later. Elsa, she's the boss. The shebang! The star of the show, you feel me? Something goes down, Elsa will know about it, and we are about to have chat with her", he smirked, again, it was like he was hiding a something.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the trailer.

"What do you think you're doing?!", I snapped, trying to tug my wrist out of his firm grip.

"I don't trust you. As soon as I let go, you will run off, so deal with it and keep your mouth shut!"

_Well. _I sighed in frustration and let him drag me to wherever we were going. We walked past many trailers and tents. People of all sorts were out, sitting at the front of their trailers, hanging their washing on homemade washing lines, sipping their morning tea, coffee, or for some men, brandy. They didn't look like the famous 'freaks' of the freak show.

"The freaks and performers get their own private tents, these are mostly just backstage crew", he said with a tone of indifference, "And here, we call freaks, people."

I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Why do you only have a trailer then?" _Shit._

I didn't mean for that to sound as bad as it did.

"I may be a freak", he lifted his claw-like hands in the air to prove his point, "but I'm not a main performer. I do side skits and shadow shows. And I mainly help with the backstage work too. Plus, I like my trailer, it's old, simple and does the job, like me in a way I guess", he explained, a distracted look on his face.

"You don't look old at all", I blurted out, regretting every word that falling out my mouth.

He looked at me in surprise.

"I'm twenty six, but I consider myself an old soul".

"And why's that?"

"Because I deal with other people's shit and clean up everyone else's mess, figuratively and literally", he retorted, clearly pissed that I kept asking questions.

"Hey Jimmy! Who's the fresh meat?", a girl who didn't look much older than me called out from her lawn chair.

She was very pretty, but she had a lot of heavy makeup. Plus she was wearing the most god awful blonde wig imaginable.

"None of ya business Maggie!", he fired back, but in a teasing, playful tone.

She smiled, and went back into her green tent, her long lavender dress flowing behind her.

"Annnd here we are!", Jimmy announced.

We found ourselves at the entrance of grand red tent.  
>"Now rules with Elsa. Let me do the talking. Don't speak unless spoken to, and no back chat like last night, we clear about that?"<p>

I frowned, I didn't like being ordered around like a child. He suddenly grabbed my chin between his two claw-like fingers, pulling my face forward. His fingers were calloused but soft at the same time.

"I said, am I clear, miss Cynthia?", he whispered.

I sighed, "Yes, crystal clear sir Jimmy."

My sarcastic tone made him chuckle as he tugged me inside the tent.

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><p><strong>Shorter chapter this time! Hope you enjoyed. Trying to get this story into gear as quickly as possible. Review please! xo<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry took so long to update, been really busy. I'll try to update as often as possible. Can't wait for American Horror Story to start next week (in Australia)! Enjoy! Thanks for the feedback! Really appreciate it.  
><strong>

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><p>The inside of the tent was magnificent. The theme of the room was gold, and regal. The furniture was decadent. Everything had an aura of expense. A king sized four poster bed dominated the room. Lush red and gold cushions covered the bed space. Four glossy gold love seats were centered around a mahogany coffee table.<p>

Opposite the entrance of the tent, a woman sat at a glorious vanity, applying lipstick to her already red lips. Her hair was blonde, curled, and shoulder length. She wore a white lace night gown that covered her from her neck to her feet.

Jimmy cleared his throat before speaking. "Elsa, can we speak a minute?", he stuttered out.

"Yes but be quick about it. I have a meeting with the mayor in half an hour." Her voice had a tone of authority and a slight German accent.

"The mayor of Jupiter?"

She rose from the vanity and turned around to face us. She looked like she was in her late fifties to early sixties, and yet, she was achingly beautiful in a Marion Davies sort of way.

"Correct. Don't look so surprised Jimmy. I know about the reports and complaints. I figured I could convince him to drop some accusations made against our show", she said, her eyes alive with power.

"Now who's this cowering behind you like a child?"

I didn't realize I was cowering, until Jimmy pulled me forward from behind him. I tried my best to look confident by plastering a fake smile on my face and straightening my spine.

"This is Cynthia, and she was wondering if she could possibly work with us, you know, as a backstage hand or cleaner?"

My eyes widened at Jimmy. _Um, what the hell? I did not agree to that. _

"Does she really? Jimmy, I am no fool. And news travels fast. I know she broke into our kitchen. I also know that Edward threatened her life and roughed her up a bit when she was caught. But, I also know that if this gets out, we're finished."

I looked over at Jimmy. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. He was speechless, and frankly so was I.

"Elsa, I was gonna tell you…. "

"No you weren't. But no matter. We can use some extra hands due to the sudden….. resignations."

She walked towards me until we were only a few centimeters apart. She was half an inch taller than me.

"Do you have any skills that could benefit us in any way?", Elsa asked.

"I uh, um, I can um….. I can clean?", I eventually stuttered out, making a fool of myself.

She raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at me.

"I see. Well, you can stay in Mason's trailer for now, since he uh… quit a few days ago. Jimmy will show you what to do and where to go. Edward will be punished for what he has done, but if I were you, I'd keep my distance. He is quite the violent type."

"Thank you, uhh, yeah thank you", again shooting my pride in the face.

Elsa smirked at Jimmy.

"She's a bright one isn't she? Go now, I have places to go and people to see."

And with that, Jimmy nodded and pulled me outside the tent. Once we weren't in hearing distance, I said, "Well she's a barrel of laughs isn't she? Oh and by the way..", I punched him in the shoulder.

"OW! Your knuckles are so bony! What was that for?", Jimmy stammered.

"Thanks for letting me know in advance that I'd be staying and working here! I didn't realize how much of a say I've got in all this!", I shouted, completely pissed off.

"What would you rather?! To be beaten into worse shape by Ed?! Or even if we let you go, no questions asked, what would you have gone back to Cynthia? A life living on the streets? I saw your clothes when Dell brought you in. They were filthy. And you were caught stealing food. Clearly your life isn't that fine and dandy!", he yelled, catching me off guard.

_He had a point. Where would I go? At least here I would have a roof over my head and a purpose. Even if it was only being a cleaner._

His eyes softened at my hurt expression.

"Look. Here, we're a family. We look out for each other. You will be safe, well fed, and have a bed to sleep in. Life could be worse. Plus, we travel everywhere all over the country. You'd be able to experience the world. See anything, and be anything you want to be."

I looked into his chocolate colored eyes. _Those eyes could win any girl over, _I thought sneakily to myself. I sighed in defeat. _What else could I do?_

"Okay."

He smiled a dazzling smile that even I couldn't resist. I smiled back, genuinely feeling happy for some reason.

"Well great. I'll show you to your trailer."

I followed him over to a trailer that was slightly smaller than his. It looked cozy enough. The inside layout was similar to Jimmy's trailer. It had a tiny kitchen and table opposite the door, and a bed towards the back of the trailer.

"I'll stock your fridge as soon as I can. But if you want fresh produce and herbs, you'll have to pay Maggie a visit. She has most of the fresh fruit and vegetables. All the performers have their own outhouse, the backstage crew have to share two outhouses between 40 people. One is for females and the others for males. Lucky for you, there are only 15 females on backstage crew. When it comes to bathing, the sink over there is your best friend. Any questions?"

"Yeah, um, what do I do for clothes?"

"I'm sure Desiree will hook you up. Speaking of Desiree, she should be up by now. Her tent is right next to Elsa's. Why don't you go introduce yourself? She'll probably introduce you to the others as well."

"Okay." I hesitated before leaving. "Where will you be?"

He smiled. "I'll be around. I'm constantly doing something, but if you need anything come find me."

Soon after that, he left the trailer, but not before checking the taps on the sink and cord on the fridge.

_So this is my life now. _I glanced around the trailer. _Well it sure beats a park bench. _

I soon left, in search for Desiree. Her tent was medium sized, and pink. I wasn't really sure how I approached this. I couldn't exactly be polite and knock. I mean.. how do you knock on a tent?

With a sigh, I slowly poked my head in. The furniture in Desiree's tent was pink, purple, and lush. Huge pink and purple cushions covered the queen sized bed towards the back of the tent. Clothes cluttered the floor and gold ornate love seats.

"Ah, hello? Anyone in here?"

"Over here child", a smooth voice said, coming from behind a gold divider.

"Sorry, is it a bad time?", I asked hesitantly, cautiously taking a few steps inside the tent.

"Not at all."

I slowly walked over towards the divider and peeked over it.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry!", I squealed, quickly averting my gaze from the chocolate colored skinned woman in the beautiful gold claw foot tub.

The smooth voice laughed.

"Child, we are both one of the same. Besides, due to my talents… I am not shy anymore. Now let me see your face."

I slowly turned my head towards her. She was beautiful. She had a heart shaped face which hosted blue eyes and peach colored lips. She had a curtain of shoulder length black curls down to her shoulders. But what surprised me most, was her chest. The cleavage that should of hinted two breasts, had two slits, which indicated three breasts. The remainder of her body was hidden beneath the bubbles in the bath water. I was lost for words.

"Yes, I have three breasts, would you like to see?"

She started to slowly rise from the bath water.

"OH no! I mean uh ….. that's fine, I believe you", I managed to stutter out in a panic.

She smiles, and remained beneath the bubbles.

"So, you must be Cynthia. Jimmy has told me little to nothing about you. I'm Desiree. My clothes look wonderful on you by the way", she said with a smirk.

"Oh! Yes, thank you, I'm sorry about that."

Desiree laughed.

"It's fine. They fit you better anyway. Not many shirts fit a three breasted woman perfectly you know? So the word through the grape vine is that Elsa allowed you to stay after the little kitchen incident", Desiree said with a raised eyebrow in questioning.

"Ahh, yes, she did. I'm supposed to clean I guess? But ahh, I've never worked at a ….. place like this before."

Desiree smiled, revealing her pearly whites.

"I see. You'll be cleaning up everyone's crap. Sounds riveting."

I didn't really know what to say to that.

I looked at her blankly.

"Uh, Jimmy sent me over here to borrow some clothes from you. He also said you'd introduce me to the others", I stuttered.

"Ah yes Jimmy. Always the hero. He's quite the looker isn't he?", Desiree mentioned slyly.

"I uh.. um I, he's okay."

_Way to impress Cynthia._

"See his hands? They may look creepy at first, but wait till you see what he can do with them… or better yet wait till you feel what he can do with them….", Desiree seductively drawled.

For some reason this made me angry.

"I'll wait for you over there", I snapped, taking her off guard.

I sat on the gold ornate love seat that was almost completely covered with silks and satins.

_I so don't fit in here._

I sighed.

The sounds of splashing water brought me out of my moody thoughts.

I glanced towards the divider which revealed the shadow of Desiree getting dressed.

"Look. There are too many people to introduce you to, and honestly, I'm not going to disturb the divas and dukes out of their slumbers to meet a new crew member they don't care about.. I'll just give you a quick rundown of everyone", Desiree called from behind the divider.

"Okay", I replied. Somewhat relieved that I didn't have to meet anyone else for now.

"You've already met Jimmy. 'The Lobster Boy'. Then there's Dell, our 'Strong man". Elsa, our show stopper, she has the voice of a sultry angel, well when she sings anyway. There's Ethel, the fat lady with the beard. You've met Ed, with the snake eyes and the fork tongue. Stay away from that piece of work. Twist the Clown, harmless, but secretive. There's Maggie the fortune teller. Oh and our newbies, Bette and Dot. You'll see them as the lady with two heads."

_Two heads? Surely she was joking. That's physically impossible…. Isn't it?_

"… and there the main ones you have to know, as for everyone else, you'll meet them eventually. Now anymore questions, comments?"

I thought about all the information I had to process.

"Clothes?"

Desiree's eyes widened in surprise. She went over to the purple, over flowing, French doored wardrobe. Before I knew it, clothes were flying everywhere, skirts, dresses, and bras all over the place. Finally Desiree emerged from a pyramid of clothes with a small purple suitcase.

"This should last you a while. You're about my size, so they should fit. Make sure you don't go into any of the performers tents unless you're asked to. They get real shitty about their "private quarters". Freak Show's opened at 6 pm. I'll see you around."

I assumed that was my not so subtle queue to leave. I wheeled the suitcase out of the tent before yelling out a thanks to Desiree.

_Now what do I do?_

Jimmy Pov

"So you're telling me, that the beautiful bratty chick from last night now works for us?", Dell laughed.

"Yes Dell. That's exactly what I'm saying. Keep your eye on Ed around her, he'll go ape shit if he sees her."

Dell chuckled. "Will do buddy."

I finished fixing the wheel on Dell's trailer, which was now sturdy as a rock.

"I better go find her, make sure she doesn't stumble into any trouble."

"Jimmy, always the hero. You should give yourself a break once in a while man? You make everyone else's problems your problem."

"Dell don't start that shit with me man."

"I'm just saying.. "

"And I was just leaving."

And on that note, I left a moody Dell.

The sun would be going down soon, and that would mean the freaks would come out to play.

As I was walking past Maggie's tent, an arm yanked me inside, startling me at first. That was until I heard the giggle.

"Maggie, I don't have time for this", I mumbled, trying to yank her arms away from my neck.

Her too bright red lipstick was smudged at the corners of her lips, and her blonde wig was half hanging off her brunette bun, holding her real hair together.

"Tsk tsk. You're no fun", she whispered, running a slender finger down my cheek then down my chest.

''I've got shit to do Mags. Can we do this later?", I struggled out of her grip. But no before she grabbed my arm again.

"Later! You promise? After the show! I'll make it extra fun", she whispered before licking the shell of my ear.

_Yikes I had to get out of here._

"Okay sure, yeah no worries. Now I've gotta go Maggie", I quickly slid out the tent but not before I saw the delight on her face.

I turned my lengthy strides into a power walk incase Maggie decided to come back for more.

_Oh Maggie._

She was a cutie, and an _excellent _distraction from the shit that went around at the show. But I just wasn't feeling her anymore. I stupidly told her I loved her the last time we had sex, heat of the moment type shit. But really, she was simply an item of amusement.

Deep in thought, I made it to Cynthia's trailer without further interruption. I hoped she found Desiree okay. The people at the show can be very intimidating, especially to newcomers.

Without thinking, I knocked on the trailer door.

A few tense moments later, it opened with Cynthia in view.

I swallowed back a gasp.

She looked edible.

Her long black hair was tied into a high pony on her head. She was wearing a pair of faded blue denim overalls that reached her ankles, with a pair of brown works boots on her feet. She had on a white, men's singlet underneath that was torn at the bottom. Her brown eyes sparkled as she took him in.

"Hi there", she said, her voice like honey.

I cleared my throat before I spoke, not trusting my voice.

"Hi. Just wanted to make sure you were settling in okay." I kept my tone clipped a professional.

"Well I've only been here for a couple hours. But yes, not too shabby. Desiree gave me some clothes, but this is the only outfit that seemed 'work' appropriate", she said, a little smile playing on her lips.

_God her lips_

"So you've been doing work?"

"Yeah, one of the crew members… Stanley I think his name was, he showed me around a bit, showed how to set up a tent and showed me where props were kept. He was nice, a bit of a sleaze, but nice enough."

_Yeah, Stanley. _He had hit on every female that ever worked at the show.

"Well cool. I just wanted to let you know that show time is in an hour, so while everyone's performing, clean up their tents and trailers. Keep out of everyone's way, and you should be fine." I didn't mean it to sound so harsh, but I couldn't risk my voice to stutter like an idiot.

Her face grew serious. "Okay, that's no problem."

Just as I was about to reply, she slammed the door in my face.

_Well I probably deserved that._

I ran a disfigured hand through my hair raggedly and went to get dressed in my trailer.

_Fuck, I'm pathetic._

Cynthia Pov

_What was his problem?_

At first I was excited to see Jimmy at the door, since he was the only person who showed a speck of kindness to me in this place. Then his clipped, moody toned caught me off guard. People were rude.

Lights started to flash and music started play from the tents outside. Soon people would be flocking in by the dozens to see the famous 'Freaks". I almost felt stupid for not having some abnormality about me. Being a freak show and all. Then of course, there was my teeth.

When I was five, the local dentist had discovered that I had an extra pair of canines behind my front teeth. Two sharp pointed little fangs as my aunt had called them. A birth defect, he'd said. Nothing more, nothing less. They'd always pop out during meals or sometimes when I talked. Pamela would tell me off constantly for showing off the 'vile things", so I learnt to pop them back in behind my front teeth, and they hadn't popped out since.

And I'd never thought of them until that moment. Not as freaky as some of the things I had seen, but still, that made me feel slightly relieved. I did fit with this crowd, just in a tiny insignificant way.

A frenzy of excited people outside interrupted my thoughts.

_Show time I guess._

I waited for the crowds to disperse into the many lit up tents, gave myself a once over in the mirror, and left the trailer with a large bang of the door on my way out.


End file.
